Brush making machine



J\ 1ly 28, 1953 Filed Aug. 20, 1951 R. F. LANGE ET AL 2,647,018

BRUSH MAKING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOKS R iahardflanye 'Z'a WUucics eg ATTORNEYS Patented July 28, 1953 OFFICE BRUSH MAKING MACHINE Richard F. Lange and Morris W. Cucksey, Pontiac, Mich.

Application August 20, 1951, Serial No. 242,632

7 1 Claim.

. 1 This invention relates to a cylindrical brush making machine.

An object of this invention is to provide a machine for making or repairing cylindrical brushes of that type used in sweeping streets.

The large type brushes used in street sweeping are formed from a tubular hub having a spiral groove, and each bristle is bent double under a cable and the latter is tightly seated in the spiral groove. The machine herein disclosed embodies a pneumatic step-by-step operator for rotating the hub, with a slidable controlling valve below the brush so that the worker may move lengthwise of the brush as the latter is being built up.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of this kind which can be used to strip the worn bristles from the brush in addition to applying new bristles.

A further object of this invention is to provide a machine of this kind which is simple in construction and can be used for making various sizes of brushes.

With the above and other objects in view, our invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawings and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a detail side elevation of a broom machine constructed according to an embodiment of this invention,

Figure 2 is a detail rear elevation of the device.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral Ill designates generally a frame structure which is formed of a pair of base members connected together by transverse connecting members l2. A pair of uprights l3 and M are secured to the base members H and the uprights l3 and M are braced in vertical position by means of bracing members l5 and 6.

A cable reel or drum I1 is mounted on an upper shaft |8 journalled in bearings |9 carried by the uprights l3 and I4, and the drum or reel I! is adapted to have a cable wound thereabout. A lower shaft 2| is journalled in bearings 22 carried by the uprights l3 and I4, and the bearings 22 are disposed opposite from the bearings I9, as shown in Figure 1.

The shaft 2| forms a part of a brush or broom and is adapted to have a cylindrical broom hub 23 secured thereto, and the hub 23 is formed with a spiral groove 24, the purpose for which will be hereinafter described. One end of the shaft 2| has a ratchet wheel 25 fixed thereto, and a pawl carrying lever 2 6 is rockably mounted on the shaft 2| and has a pawl 21 pivotally secured thereto which is engageable with the ratchet wheel 25.

A pneumatic operator generally designated as 28 is swingably secured at its lower end to the base members H, as indicated at 29. The operator 23 comprises a cylinder 33 having upper and lower heads 3| and 32, and a piston 33 is slidable in the cylinder 30. A piston rod 34 is connected at one end to the piston 33, slidably engaging through the upper head 3|, and is pivotally connected as by a pivot 35 to the pawl carrier 26.

A regulating valve 36 is slidable on a pair of guide rods 31 which are fixed between the base members I, and the valve 36 has a flexible pres sure hose 38 connected thereto which is connected at one end to a source of air pressure.

The valve 36 includes a flexible outlet pressure hose 39 connected to the lower head 32, and a flexible outlet pressure line 40 connected to the upper head 3|. An exhaust port 42 is carried by the valve 36 whereby air may be exhausted from either end of the cylinder 3|]. The valve member 36 includes a shaft 43 having a pedal or operator 44 fixed thereto so that a worker may depress either end of the pedal 44 so as to communicate the pressure line 38 with a selected pressure line 39 or 40.

The upper shaft I8 has fixed thereon a ratchet wheel 45 which is adapted to be engaged by a pawl 46 when the reel or drum H is to be reversed for unwinding a cable from a worn broom. The pawl 46 is rockably mounted on a rock lever 41 which is rockably mounted on the shaft I8 inwardly of the ratchet wheel 45, and a link 48 is connected between the pivot 35 and the pivot 49, the latter being the pivot for the pawl 46. The

shaft I8 is adapted to be braked or frictionally held against rotation so as to maintain the cable 23 taut during the winding of the cable 20 on the hub 23 by tightening of the bearing caps 9a.

In the use and operation of this machine, when it is desired to renew the bristles on the brush B, one end of the cable 20 is anchored or fixed as at 5| to the hub 23. The bristles are doubled and bent about the cable 20 and at this time the valve operator 44 is depressed so as to move the piston 33 upwardly whereby the pawl 21 will partially rotate shaft 2| and hub 23 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 1. This operation is repeated until the cable 20 is completely Wound on the hub 23 with the cable 20 engaging in the groove 24 and tightly binding the bristles within the groove 24.

As the shaft 2| is partially rotated, shaft I8 is frictionally held against rotation by tightening of the bearing caps [90. so that the cable 20 will be maintained taut. At the time the cable 20 is being wound on the hub 23, pawl 46 will be disposed in the full line position shown in Figure 1, which is out of engagement with ratchet wheel 45. When it is desired to unwind a cable from a worn drum, pawl 46 is swung upwardly to the dotted line position shown in Figure 1, and pawl 21 is swung downwardly to the dotted line position in Figure 1. With pawl 45 engaged with ratchet wheel 45, shaft 18 will be rotated counterclockwise each time piston 33 is moved downwardly in cylinder 30, and shaft 2| may be frictionally held against rotation by tightening of the bearing caps 22a.

We do not mean to confine ourselves to the exact details of construction herein disclosed, but claim all variations falling withinthe purview of the appended claim.

What we claim is:

In a brush making machine comprising a base frame, a pair of uprights carried by said frame, an upper horizontal shaft journalled between said uprights, a cable drum on said shaft, a. lower horizontal shaft journalled between said uprights, a pneumatic operator carried by said base, pawl and ratchet means between said operator and said lower shaft, a pair of parallel horizontal guide bars carried by said base, a control valve slidable on said guide bars, tubular connections between said valve and said operator, a pipe for connecting said valve to a pressure supply source, a ratchet carried by said upper shaft, a pawl carrying lever rockably carried by said upper shaft, a pawl carried by said lever engageable with said latter ratchet, and a link connection between said operator and said lever, said second named pawl being disengaged from said second named ratchet when said first named pawl and ratchet means is operative, said second named pawl efiecting reverse rotation of said upper shaft and cable drum to thereby wind a cable on said drum.

RICHARD F. LANGE.

MORRIS W. CUCKSEY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

